During the past four decades knowledge about biological effects of ionizing radiations on mammalian cells, normal tissues and tumours has increased enormously and has enabled radiotherapists to obtain a better insight into the advantages and disadvantages of cancer treatments with modified regimens of irradiations and combinations with chemotherapeutic agents. Even for the older scientists and clinicians who have wit­ nessed all these developments and have contributed to the vast amount of information, it is difficult to integrate this knowledge and to apply it in their daily work. For younger workers it is often difficult to select the important main concepts and results from the overwhelming number of publications. It is evident that a book which provides an integrated view of basic and applied radiation oncology can be of great value to students, scientists and, most importantly, to clinicians who can devote only part of their time to the task of understanding the radiobiological background of their application of radiation in cancer treatment. This book "Radiation Oncology" is written by a radiotherapist who has for a long time participated in the integration of basic knowledge and clinical experience. He has selected radiobiological information which is considered important to radiotherapy and in the description and interpretation of normal tissue tolerance and tumour eradication probability, he illustrates how basic knowledge can be applied clinically.

Inhalt

I.1 The Overall Radiobiological Effect: the Evolution of Radiation Damage.- II.1 Dose Survival Relationships: Methodology, Forms, and Interpretations.- II.2 Some Modifiers of Dose-response Relationships.- II.3 Interaction of Radiation and Chemotherapeutic Agents.- III.1 Radiation Effects on Normal Tissues: General Principles.- III.2 Dose-time-volume Relationships in Normal Tissue Response to Irradiation.- III.3 Early Reacting Tissues: Skin.- III.4 Early Reacting Tissues: the Haematopoietic Tissue.- III.5 Early Reacting Tissues: the Lymphoid Tissue and the Immune Systems.- III.6 Early Reacting Tissues: the Digestive Tract.- III.7 Early Reacting Tissues: the Testes.- III.8 Radiation Effects on the Ovary: a Nonrenewal System.- III.9 Late Reacting Tissues: Radiation-induced Lung Damage.- III.10 Late Reacting Tissues: the Urinary Tract.- III.11 Late Reacting Normal Tissues: Radiation-induced Liver Damage.- III.12 Late Reacting Tissues: Radiation-induced Damage to the Central Nervous System.- III.13 Late Reacting Tissues: Radiation-induced Heart Disease.- IV.1 Tumour Growth: Organization of Tumour Proliferative Activity.- IV.2 Tumour Growth: Patterns, Parameters and Measurement.- IV.3 Analysis of the Growth Parameters of Human Tumours: Clinical Implications.- IV.4 Tumour Radiation Response: A. Response to a Single Dose.- IV.5 Tumour Radiation Response: B. Response to Multifraction and Protracted Low Dose Rate Irradiation.- IV.6 Hypoxia in Solid Tumours and Normal Tissues: Clinical Implications.- IV.7 Estimates of the Outcome of Radiotherapy. Accuracy requirements.